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This week, LookTel released a significant update to the free LookTel VoiceOver Tutorial app for iOS. This update adds two new lessons, effectively doubling the apps content.

The new lessons cover such things as exploring the phone keypad and in-call screens, as well as answering and sending messages to incoming callers.

Two new mini-games are included, as well as a fun interactive scenario simulating an in-call phone directory situation so that customers may become familiar with using the iPhone’s keypad when they may need to interact with such in-call directory systems in real-life.

Below is the App Store link and description for the LookTel VoiceOver Tutorial.

This app provides a basic introduction to VoiceOver and the gestures used throughout iOS. Persons new to VoiceOver and IOS are guided through the tutorial with a pleasant mix of facts and entertainment. Once the app is started with VoiceOver running, the text and elementary games provide a practice of the basic gestures used with VoiceOver and IOS. As each new gesture is introduced, it is accompanied by an interactive practice screen. The core basics are covered:

- tap, double-tap, and split-tap gestures - flick right and flick left - two-finger-double-tap - the rotor gesture - the up and down flick. - two-finger single tap - two-finger flick up and down - double-tap and hold - three finger flick up, down, left and right

A VoiceOver Basketball, and a VoiceOver Safe game provide opportunities to practice these core gestures. An explanation of the use each gesture has in IOS is provided, along with a summary of all the gestures introduced in this tutorial.

This app may be used independently by anyone new to VoiceOver and IOS, or within a class, seminar, or introductory instructional setting.

Draconis Entertainment has released DoItWrite for iPhone, an educational tool and practice game for mastering the shapes of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and numbers for use with VoiceOver’s new handwriting feature in iOS 7. From the app description:

This app is primarily intended for the blind or visually impaired, teachers or instructors of same, and other users of iOS 7’s VoiceOver screen reader.

Many blind or visually impaired people are not familiar with the shapes of printed letters or numbers. DoItWrite teaches you how to draw them in a simple way that has the best chance of being correctly recognized by VoiceOver, even if you have never learned the shapes of the characters previously. Once you get them down, practice your speed and accuracy with a fun game to blast characters as they tumble down the screen!

Learn how to activate the VoiceOver handwriting feature in iOS 7

Learn how to draw lowercase and uppercase letters, as well as numbers in a simple and accurate way.

Practice your newly acquired skills by blasting letters and numbers as they tumble down the screen.

Use the app to improve your onscreen typing skills by using the keyboard during game play.

Automatic feedback and coach via audio queues and speech output.

DoItWrite automatically detects when VoiceOver is not running, and permits the tutorial to be browsed with the onscreen keyboard. Great for sighted teachers and tutors!

As is our custom, we are going to highlight some of the changes to VoiceOver and accessibility in iOS 7 here. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of the differences between versions 6 and 7, but rather a rundown of the most interesting things to expect in this update.

We assume, for the purposes of this look at iOS 7, that you are familiar with VoiceOver and how it works and behaves in previous versions of the operating system.

Apple products are simple, intuitive, and easy to use. And to help you do more in more ways, a variety of award-winning assistive technologies come standard. So every device not only has accessible features — but accessible principles — built right in.